Monday 7 May 2012

How to make your own vegetarian chorizo

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I have an admission to make...I've never eaten real chorizo sausages, so my humble attempt at a recipe for vegetarian version of chorizo may be way off. However, it's worth having a go at making them, as they taste good whether they're realistic or not! I've looked at loads of  meaty recipes and I've come up with a combination based on those flavours added to my basic shami kebab recipe.

Makes 8 sausages

  • 1 ½ cups vegetarian mince (vegetarian ground-beef style crumbles), defrosted if frozen
  • 1 ½ cups fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped or grated
  • 1 small or medium egg
  • 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 heaped tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp sweet/mild paprika 
  • 1 tsp chilli paste/1 fresh red chilli deseeded and finely chopped
  • ½ tsp ground fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • Black pepper to season
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée 
  • 2 tbsp wine/cider vinegar
Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan.
Add the onion and cook on a medium heat until soft, but not brown.
Add the garlic, herbs and spices and cook for a further minute
Stir in the tomato purée and vinegar and heat through.
Remove from the heat.
Place the veggie mince and breadcrumbs in a bowl and mix to combine, breaking up any lumps of veggie mince. 
Add the onion and spice mixture and stir together (or blend in a food processor for a smoother texture -  I did this the second time I made them, and found that they stuck together a little better).
Finally add the egg and mix/blend until combined to make a firm but moist mixture, adding more breadcrumbs if needed.
Place in the fridge and allow to firm up for 30 minutes.
Shape into 8 sausages or 16 meatballs, and fry on a low-medium heat for 10 minutes, turning once or twice. Alternatively, brush with oil and bake in the oven at 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 for around 15 minutes, or grill/broil/bbq.

Eat hot or cold.

Suitable for freezing.

Alternatives:
For a vegan version, replace the egg with a suitable binder.
For a Mexican-style vegetarian chorizo sausage, swap the ground fennel and smoked paprika for ¼ tsp ground cinnamon and 1-2 tsp ground cumin. 

Find loads more veggie recipes celebrating National Vegetarian week, over at Tinned Tomatoes.
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15 comments:

  1. I have to admit that I miss sausages the most. I'm always on the look-out for vegetarian alternatives that are not those processed Tivall type things.

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  2. Hope you like these then. You can vary the herbs and spices to make different sausages each time!

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  3. These look great - what a super idea! I shall definitely be giving them a go!

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  4. Thanks P. They might not be authentic, but my family all thought they tasted pretty good!

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  5. Can anyone suggest a suitable binder for a vegan version? I'm a new vegan and figuring everything out x

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  6. These look amazing Lisa. I would never have thought of trying this. I am going to give them a go. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.

    Thanks for sending them over for my Vegetarian Week roundup. I am writing it up just now.

    Jac
    x

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Jac, hope you like them. They were a bit of an experiment, which I think went pretty well!

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  7. These sound very yummy but I don't know what vegetarian mince is. Could you elaborate a bit on that? Jan "Eats Nothing With Eyeballs" in Michigan.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Jan...just had to google to see what you call mince in the US! I think you call it ground meat? If so, then you need the vegetarian equivalent...can you buy it over there? We get several brands over here including Quorn: http://www.quorn.co.uk/products/11/mince/ If you can't find this sort of product, then you could use re-hydrated 'ground' soy.

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    2. Thanks to the power of the internet, I can now inform you that you need something like Morningstar Farms crumbles!

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  8. made these last week-double quantity , so far this week , there's been 2 chorizo pizzas , 3 pastas , and a mushroom chorizo cheesy wrap , definitely making this again

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    Replies
    1. That's great to hear Jim; glad you liked the recipe :-)

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  9. Can't take any Quorn / reconstituted anything...bad reaction...Any ideas for sub for the Quorn?

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  10. You could use soya mince if you eat that. If not I would try using blended, cooked chickpeas to make a kind of chorizo-flavoured falafel.

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